Urban agriculture (Ua) is being constantly reviewed because of its significant contribution to urban and metropolitan sustainability (mS). Within the approaches associated with Ua, agroecology stands out as a practice that places value on collaborative social networks. Emerging from grassroots organizations that focus on ecological production and food sovereignty, agroecology strengthens short production-consumption chains, therefore increasing the resilience of metropolitan systems, which are under constant threat by natural hazards. The focus of this research is to develop and apply a methodology that identifies underlying agroecological practices, describing their location, state of development, and potential contribution to sustainability within metropolitan areas. a theoretical framework is developed to distinguish agroecological practices from commonly practiced Ua; subsequently a proposed methodology is developed to identify and assess these activities based on the following criteria: forms of production, sociopolitical organization, and mS. This methodological approach is used to analyze agroecological practices present in the metropolitan area of Concepción, Chile's second most important city, located over a territory with high presence of marshes, riverbeds, and wetlands. Conclusions identify as main strengths of agroecological practices their location on rururban interstices, together with their small scale of production; both aspects contribute to improving mS. Regarding weaknesses, the lack of appropriate planning policies and regulations threaten agroecological practices to disappear under the pressures exerted by contemporary urban development. finally, particular attention should be given to associative organizations, which have proven to enhance sustainable agroecological outcomes, by increasing employment generation, environmental preservation and local resilience.

This research analyses the impact of urban design on the vitality of public space. For the above, it explores the experience of inhabitants throughout indicators. This analysis allows us to identify relations between urban design and the perception of people inhabiting the place; identifying elements that favour or diminish the vitality of urban public spaces. As a case study, the Biobio Riverside Park, in Concepción, Chile, was selected. Based on its condition of being an attractive project, well located and designed; however, absent from activities and appropriation. The article researches bibliographically about some aspects of urban design, which modify the perception of inhabitants concerning the urban environment. Subsequently, several authors are analysed to identify the main urban design criteria considered for the development of an appropriate public space. With this background a methodological tool is constructed, to evaluate the perception of the inhabitants in relation to various urban design factors. Its application is done through surveys and planimetric analysis in the field. Finally, the survey and planimetry data were analysed simultaneously, in order to recognize the main elements of urban design, conditioning the vitality of the riverside park. Among the main results, security, accessibility, and diversity of activities emerge as the most influential urban design factors in the vitality of public space. Simultaneously, a clear difference between the participants’ perception is identified, depending on the proximity of their residence to the case study. This implies that both the sense of appropriation, as well as the sense of security and the attractiveness of the urban landscape, are determining aspects of perception, to promote the vitality of public space.